Georgia top court reinstates ban on abortions after six weeks

The suit challenging the prohibition was brought by Atlanta-based SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.

“Today, the Georgia Supreme Court sided with anti-abortion extremists,” SisterSong enforcement manager Monica Simpson said successful a statement. “Every infinitesimal this harmful six-week termination prohibition is successful place, Georgians suffer.”

The bureau of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney blocked the instrumentality connected Sept. 30, uncovering that it violated women’s rights to privateness and liberty guaranteed by the authorities constitution.

The instrumentality bans astir each abortions aft a “human heartbeat” is detected, typically astir six weeks, earlier galore women cognize they are pregnant. It was passed successful 2019 but did not instrumentality effect until the U.S. Supreme Court successful 2022 overturned its longstanding Roe v. Wade precedent, which had guaranteed termination rights nationwide.

McBurney had antecedently blocked the termination prohibition successful November 2022 connected narrower grounds, but the state’s Supreme Court rapidly overturned that ruling and sent the lawsuit backmost to McBurney for trial.

In his bid past week, McBurney wrote that women “are not immoderate portion of collectively owned assemblage spot the disposition of which is decided by bulk vote,” and recovered that the authorities could lone restrict termination aft fetal viability.

Monday’s Supreme Court ruling is temporary, but volition stay successful spot until the tribunal hears arguments from some sides and issues its last ruling.